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WOW Chairperson Anat Hoffman: “We sounded the shofar today in order to knock down the walls of apathy, exclusion, silencing and discrimination…We look to the Supreme Court, that has proven itself as the “responsible adult” in the state, to lead to a just solution to our basic demand for equal rights for women at the Wall.”

Approximately 100 worshipers arrived at the women’s section of the Western Wall for Rosh Hodesh Elul prayer with Women of the Wall. Despite strict security checks at the entrances to the Kotel, worshipers were able to bring in a Torah scroll and read from it during services. At the end of the prayer, worshipers sang Hatikva, the national anthem, after which 15 women sounded the shofars.

Students who came to the prayer were held up at the checkpoint for 40 minutes and were late to arrive to prayer. Some of the female students were subjected to a physical search, and they were requested to lift up their shirts and skirts. These searches go against Judge Rubinstein’s decision which states that body searches on Women of the Wall are illegal without a serious security threat. A few of these students, who were visiting the Kotel for the first time, were shocked by the incident and the difficult experience imposed on them.

The prayer started peacefully, but roughly 30 minutes into it, a group of ultra-Orthodox women and girls arrived shouting, whistling, spitting and cursing incessantly. The Western Wall Heritage Foundation security guards, who are in charge of maintaining order didn’t prevent the disruptions despite recurring requests from worshipers in the women’s section.

WOW Chairperson Anat Hoffman: “We sounded the shofar today in order to knock down the walls of apathy, exclusion, silencing and discrimination…We look to the Supreme Court, that has proven itself as the “responsible adult” in the state, to lead to a just solution to our basic demand for equal rights for women at the Wall.”

WOW Board Member, Attorney Riki Shapira-Rosenberg: “We hope that the Supreme Court will instruct the Prime Minister to honor the cabinet’s commitment and implement the Kotel Agreement in its original form, a move that will prevent a rift in the Jewish people and enable every woman to realize her constitutional right to equality and religious freedom at the Western Wall.”

WOW Executive Director, Lesley Sachs: “At Rosh Hodesh Elul we sound the shofars. It’s a moment of elation, in which we believe the gates of heaven open, and every sound of the shofar deepens the connection within ourselves. We hope that thanks to that moment, hearts that are not yet ready to respect and love the other, will accept the fact that the Western Wall belongs to us all, and isn’t the private courtyard of the ultra-Orthodox.

Last month the state presented its response to the Supreme Court regarding Women of the Wall. The hearing is set for August 31 at 9 am at the Supreme Court. Justices Naor, Meltzer and Danziger will be presiding.

About Women of the Wall:

WOW is a group of religious women from all denominations (Orthodox, Conservative and Reform) who pray at the Western Wall every “Rosh Hodesh” (beginning of the month) and have been fighting for 28 years for equal rights for women in praying at the Western Wall. The group wishes to pray according to Jewish Law (Halacha), in a group and out loud; to read from a Torah scroll; and to put on tefillin and tallit, at the section known as the Women’s Section of the Western Wall.

Following a 3-year-negotiation, the Kotel Agreement was approved in government on January 31, 2016, by a 15 to 5 majority. The agreement stated that a third section be established, designated for Women of the Wall and pluralistic movements’ prayers. The agreement was voided by a cabinet vote on June 25th, 2017. The Supreme Court hearing of WOW petition is scheduled for August 31, 2017.